Captivated
by BunBunBabe
Summary: Neal has been suffering in silence since his return from Rome now its a new ballfeild but the same game. Drama, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, and suspense are awaiting you. Warning light slash you have been warned. No flamz plz Part III of Worth the Risk Series
1. Chapter 1

**((Here is the sequel to Lights, Camera, Con and Companions, Disclaimer I do not own white collar, and I make no money from this.)) **

**Chapter 1: Circle of Fear**

Neal walked up to the office building, and with a quick glance he sighed as he walked inside and made his way to the fourth floor where he pulled the door open and he instantly regretted opening it. The waiting room was filled with a terrible faux oak paneling and prints of famous paintings. Neal swallowed his pride as an art lover and crossed the threshold of the office waiting room and walked over to the receptionist. "I'm here for my ten o'clock appointment" he said with a weak smile.

The young woman smiled and looked up the appointment "Of course, Mr. Caffrey, Dr. Parker will be out in a few minutes," she said with another toothy smile as overly niceness made Neal feel like cringing. Neal pasted a fake smile on his face and took a seat in an empty chair, his eyes roved around the room looking at everything around him.

After a couple minutes Neal began to fidget in the seat, but just as his foot began to tap on the floor the office door opened. "Ah Mr. Caffrey I was hoping you would show up today especially after you canceled so many times before" the doctor said as he held an open arm out ushering Neal into his office. Rising to his feet Neal walked into the office and let his face cringe once again at the cheap artwork.

Right away he fixed his mask of a perfect smile as he took a seat on the forest green leather couch that made him sink when he sat down.

"Now, Neal I think we should talk about why you canceled so many appointments before finally coming in today," Dr. Parker said as he took his seat across from the couch his notepad resting on his leg. Looking at the note pad for a moment Neal gave a small sigh and looked out the window showing he wasn't sure what to say.

The doctor gave a small nod as he scribbled something down "How about I talk first to get the ball rolling? Your partner Peter contacted me because he's worried about you, he told me that he's witnessed you not acting like yourself; I believe his exact words were you were acting very un-Neal," he said hoping to get a reaction out of Neal. Neal looked away from the window for a moment before looking back out at the brick building across the street.

With a sigh the doctor scribbled a few more observational notes on his patient as the time ticked by slowly Neal counted the seconds till he would be released when there was ten minutes let the doctor cleared his throat "Neal, why don't we call it a day, I'll see you again the same time next week I hope." He said as he watched Neal take off before he could even get out of the chair. With a sigh he grabbed his phone and dialed the number on the business card he had been given.

"Yes, Agent Burke it's Doctor Parker… he showed up finally, but he's still not ready to talk yet. From the notes you gave me from the FBI's evaluation he's more shut off in the last three weeks then when he was evaluated the first time just after coming back from Rome. I want to continue seeing Neal but I was wondering if it was possible to try something a little different before our next appointment; I would like to observe him when he's with you in a more relaxed setting that makes him happy," Parker said as he looked over his notes.

Peter sighed into his phone "I'm taking him to a museum this weekend, normally when he's faced with art he opens right up from whatever problem he has to explain the art to me I hope that will be the case this time around," Peter said as he picked up the small pamphlet to the gallery show. "I'll have to e-mail you the information later; I need to get back to work, yes… I'll keep trying thanks again for seeing him after all the cancelations. I'll see you soon bye," Peter said before hanging the phone up just as Neal walked into the room.

"How was your first appointment with the doc?" Peter asked knowing the answer already though he kept a true poker face on to see how Neal would answer. "Oh it was good we talked about quite a bit, I should get back to my desk and get to work on those notes on the latest case," Neal lied as he faked a smile before he left the office and returned to his desk at the end of the bullpen.

The FBI agent gave a defeated sigh "Why can't you let us help you Neal," he whispered softly as Diana walked into his office. "Hey boss, is there something wrong?" she asked as she watched Peter shake himself out of his thoughts. "Hmm… oh not really, I was just thinking about something is all," he said looking at his agent. "Can I help you with something?" he asked

Diana nodded as she handed a manila folder over "You asked me to keep look into the phone records for the case; well we finally got them in and I thought you would want to take a look at them" she said handing the folder over. Peter opened the folder and glanced at the records inside before putting the folder on his desk. "Thanks I'll take care of that in a little bit, but first I need to get a few things done," he lied as he waited for her to leave.

* * *

When Neal arrived at his desk he sat down and looked around as everyone were working like bees moving around or filling out reports. Neal reached into his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write down his notes for the case. After two minutes of writing he put the paper aside and picked up a small colorful sheet of origami paper and began to fiddle around with it until he had a paper flower resting in his hand. Neal glanced at the papers scattered around his desk and ignored them once again.

_I just don't have the motivation to do paperwork anymore; I mean what's the point…_ Neal thought as he put the flower down on his desk before picking up another slip of paper and folding it into another flower.

Peter watched his partner goof around with his paper flowers again. _Ever since he got the news that Colin was found not guilty he's become a shell of himself. I offered that he to move back in with us but every time I do he changes the subject, and when I pull his tracking data from his off hours he's rarely at June's he wanders all around his range for hours and then he goes back to June's just long enough to get three hours of sleep before I pick him up for work. _Peter thought as he got up from chair and walked out to Neal's desk was.

"I was about to get some good coffee from that place down the street do you want to join me?"Peter asked hoping that spending some time with his friend would get him back to normal. Neal finished folding his origami flower before looking up "Sure, having some good coffee sounds nice;" Neal said as he grabbed his hat and coat.

Neal scampered after Peter as he walked to the elevator. "So you must be excited about the show we're going to this weekend, I believe you told me that you haven't been there since I arrested you." Peter remarked as he got into the elevator with Neal. The elevator beeped as they passed each floor.

When they reached the lobby Peter led Neal to a small café that they both enjoyed. Neal walked up to the counter and ordered two Italian roast coffees, afterwards both men made their way to a empty table by the large window. Both men felt shy around each other as if on an awkward date and every time Peter tried to make eye contact Neal would look away unwilling to talk for fear of what the other would ask; so they drank their coffee in silence, and when the paper cups were empty they left the café and made their way back to the office.

Peter left Neal at his desk in the bullpen before heading back to his own office and as soon as he shut the wooden door Peter took a seat at his desk and looked out the window._ He's terrified of Colin and Dante and he's worried they will come for him_ Peter though before he spun around and got right back to work.

* * *

Colin sat by the window of his hotel suite; he looked up from the folder in his hand when the door opened. "You're late…and you also said that you would have made your move by now," he added in an annoyed tone. Dante sighed as he removed the camera from around his neck. "It's not easy to follow someone around without looking suspicious," Dante replied as he pulled the SD card from the camera and jammed it into the portable card reader connected to the laptop on the table.

After a few seconds later dozens of pictures of Neal began to upload onto the computer, the pictures ranged from different distances. Some pictures were taken with a wide angle lenses while others were tight close-up shots of Neal alone on the streets by June's in the early morning hours. Few photos contained anyone else except for Neal and few pictures that had other people showed Neal's co workers, friends and land lady. A few dozen of the candid shots showed Peter and Neal at the café that very morning.

"Oh how cute, Burke's taking his pet out for coffee," Dante said printing out the picture and handing it to Colin. With a wide smile Colin looked at the picture of his former pet. "He looks so lost without me, maybe it's time we start the mind games he's been waiting long enough while I was going through those horrid court proceedings. I wrote the first letter all you have to do is drop it in his land lady's mail box while you're following him around," Colin said as he handed a sealed envelope to Dante. "Just getting a letter from me should be enough to frighten him," Colin added as he looked at the picture in his hand once more.

Dante pulled the SD card out of the reader and put it back into his camera; before grabbing letter from Colin and showed it into his messenger bag. "I'm starting to think you get off on ordering me around some times," Dante said smirking as he left the hotel room to play messenger boy.

After flagging a cab Dante watched as the city flew by the windows. When he arrived at June's he watched for moment to make sure that no one was around to see him as he dropped the letter in the mailbox before taking off for some alone time. After leaving the house Dante walked down the street to find a place to relax before going back to being Colin's errand boy.

* * *

Neal drifted between doing work and finding folding paper flowers which he discovered to be more interesting, he felt someone's eyes on him and looking up from his most recent origami flower Neal found Peter watching him like a hawk before turning back to his work. Neal rose from his chair and walked up the short flight of stairs to Peter's office. When he arrived at the office door he knocked on the open door.

Peter looked up and waved Neal in "Yes, can I help you?" Peter asked as he saw Neal take a seat across from him. "I was wondering if I could call it an early day, we haven't had a good case in a while so you really don't need me right now," Neal said with a smile as he began to play with the things on Peter's desk.

"Just go, I'll tell Hughes that you weren't feeling well. I'll be by in the morning to pick you up," Peter said as he reached for his keys "Actually I'll drop you off at June's on my way home," he added as he pulled his coat off the back of his chair.

When they got to Peter's car they climbed in and drove off, Neal fiddled with the radio dials and put his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. "Don't get too comfortable, we're almost to June's," Peter said as he glanced over and saw that Neal had dozed off. With a sigh Peter pulled up in front of June's house. "Neal wake up, we're here," Peter said reaching over and shaking Neal awake.

Groaning lightly Neal opened his eyes and looked around before switching the radio off. "Thanks for the ride Peter I'll get enough rest for tomorrow," Neal said as he got out of the car and ascended the stairs to the front door. Being the gentleman he was he grabbed the mail out of the mail box and brought it inside. Right away Neal noticed his name scrawled on one heavy cotton envelope.

_I wonder who would send me something_ Neal thought as he dropped the rest of the mail on the front table before heading upstairs. Once inside his apartment Neal removed his hat and put it on the coat rack. Walking across his apartment to the small kitchen area Neal grabbed a small bag of Swedish style ginger snaps that he had become addicted to while at the Burke's.

Neal parked himself on his small love-seat and opened the bag of cookies and stuffed one into his mouth before he unsealed the letter, the first thing that caught his eye was the dog eared photo. Neal yanked the photo of the envelope and saw it was a picture of the Burke's house, turning it around he saw Peter and Elizabeth's work schedule written on the back, before he could stop himself Neal grabbed the letter and opened it up and read it aloud.

"Have you missed me Baby, by now you know out that I know where you live and where your partner lives, I suggest you not say anything about this letter unless you want someone bad to happen," Neal read as he grabbed the envelope and saw there was no stamp or postmark.

_I never should have let my guard down, Colin has found me and he could be watching me right now._ Neal thought as he went out onto the terrace and looked around at the buildings for any sign of someone watching him. Once he had looked at every window Neal walked back inside and closed the door behind him, and moved away from the windows. After scanning the room looking for a place to hide he decided to sit on his bed.

* * *

June had heard Neal come home early, busing herself in the kitchen she made two cups of coffee and brought them up to the terraces and knocked on the door "Neal, would you like to come out and have some coffee with me?" June as she looked in the window.

Neal moved from his bed and faked a smiled as he walked out to the terrace."Coffee sounds nice June, I'll be right out," Neal said unlocking the door and walking out to the table and grabbed one of the coffee cups and started to sip the coffee as he took his seat.

_Even if I'm being watched right now it doesn't matter as long as I stay near Peter then Colin wouldn't dare come after me, _Neal thought as he glanced off into the distance. "I know when you have something on your mind Neal, now you don't have to say anything but you should know that I'm here to talk if you need it," June said softly as she sat across from Neal.

It took all of three silent minutes before Neal opened his mouth "I finally went to that doctor Peter wanted me to see, but I didn't say anything and when Peter asked me I lied to him and when I lied to him, it made me feel terrible" Neal lied again as he thought of the letter in his room.

"That only means you're learning how to be a better person, it seems Peter is rubbing off on you a bit," June said with a smile she knew Neal had more to say but she was a patient woman she could wait for him to be ready to speak. "Just remember no matter how bad something seems we're all here for you and we'll do anything to help you," she added sipping her coffee as a few birds flew by the stone wall. Neal smiled a bit "Yeah I guess he is," he agreed finishing off his cup of coffee.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer I do not own this yadda…yadda… I crave reviews I snack on them as I write hehe. Warning some light dusting of slash, I wanted to say I hope everyone enjoys the chapter. Thanks again Peppe, I never would have finished this chapter without you)  
**

**Chapter 2: Without You**

Dante walked up and down the streets keeping a mental map of the area in case he ever needed to make an escape attempt. He looked as his watch and saw it was time to make another move, so he walked back the way he came and ducked down an alley and made his way up the fire escape to the roof.

Once he was on the roof Dante pulled out his camera and began to take pictures of Neal talking with his landlady. To mess with his cousin Dante pulled out his cell phone and dialed Neal's number and hit send, and waited for Neal to pick up after a couple rings.

"You dripped some coffee on your shirt, make sure you don't let it stain too bad shrimp," Dante said before hanging up. He raised his telephoto lens camera to watch Neal's reaction to his call.

* * *

Neal dropped his phone and looked down at his shirt and saw the coffee, right away he looked up at the nearby buildings looking for any signs of his cousin. _Where is he, where is he… _ Neal thought as he jumped up from his chair and ran over to the chest high wall and looked at the windows and rooftops.

"Leave me alone!" Neal yelled as he turned around and sank down to the stone floor and put his hands over his temples and gripped his head. "Leave me alone…" Neal whispered as he became lost in his own world.

June grabbed Neal's phone and hit the speed dial for Peter's home and hit send she waited a few rings before Elizabeth picked up. "Is Peter there? its important" June said as she walked over and put a comforting hand on Neal's hand.

"He just walked in the door, Honey… don't take your coat off," Elizabeth said as she handed the phone over as she mouthed June's name as he took the phone. Peter raised the phone to his ear. "June… what's wrong?" he asked as a worried tone creeping into his voice he could hear someone in the background talking though it was faint over sounds of the city.

The older woman sat on the edge of the large planter and began to pet Neal's hair "One minute we were drinking coffee then he received a phone call and he started to yell to be left alone and I believe he's having a panic attack. You should get over here as soon as you can," She said as she worried about Neal.

Peter nodded his head "I'll be right over," he said before hanging up "I… I have to go El, its Neal." He added as he ran back out the door and jumped into his car, and drove back to June's as fast as he could. Peter parked the car and jumped out. He used his spare key to get into the well decorated home. Peter rushed upstairs and ran out the door onto the terrace.

"Neal…" he whispered as he walked over and pulled the ex con's hands off his head and looked at the terror in Neal's eyes. "Who was on the phone Neal?" Peter asked softly as he pulled Neal into his arms and began to rub his back.

"They're here…if I move they'll see me" Neal said softly. Giving a sigh Peter attempted to pull Neal from his hiding place against the wall. "I can't move they'll see us…they know I'm here Peter." Neal said as he pulled away from Peter and pushed himself against the wall. Peter bit his lip for a moment as he thought of how to get Neal to calm down. "They are not going to see you in your bedroom." Peter said trying to convince Neal he was safe.

Whimpering lightly Neal slowly stood up and made his quickly into his apartment and over to his bed. Peter walked in after Neal after glancing outside once more before walking over to the bedroom area.

"Why don't you change and get into bed I think you need some rest Neal," Peter said as he walked back across the apartment to the kitchen area. "I'll tell everyone you felt sick, that's the beauty of being a consultant you don't have to worry about your sick days," Peter said as he grabbed a small medicine bottle off the top shelf.

Once Neal changed his clothes Peter had a couple pills and a glass of water ready. "Here take these, they'll help you relax and I'll stay till you fall asleep," Peter said as he watched his partner get cleaned up and brush his teeth before climbing into bed. After a few minutes Neal was drifting between conscious and unconscious.

Peter looked around the apartment; he had taken Neal cell phone and looked at the call log and as soon as he saw the unlisted number he knew it had to have been the caller that scared Neal. After pocketing the phone Peter noticed a photo hastily tucked away on the coffee table.

_I know that snooping into Neal's privacy is wrong but if it's going to help him I'm all for it, _Peter thought as he picked up the photo; it took the agent all of three seconds to realize that he was looking at a picture of his house. Flipping the picture over Peter saw his and Elizabeth's schedule and when he saw that Peter took it upon himself to search Neal's apartment finding the letter that most likely came with the picture.

The agent was seeing red as he read the letter; then he pulled his phone out and took a deep breath before dialing the numbers. "Diana it's me, can you go into my office and look up a number for Margret O'Malley," Peter said as he grabbed a pen and paper and jotted the number down. "And before you go Diana, please look at Neal's phone log there is an unlisted number there that I need tracked down… also tell Hughes I'm going to stay with Neal he freaked out pretty badly and he shouldn't be alone right now," Peter added as he sat back on the love-seat.

* * *

Dante was pleased with himself as he put his camera back in his bag; he had systematically broken his cousin down to a quivering mess. After making sure that no one was watching Dante climbed down the fire escape to the dark alley, although he knew Colin wouldn't be happy that Neal's partner was there with him.

After hailing a cab Dante sat back as the cab traveled through mid afternoon traffic back to the Plaza Hotel. Once he was there the former Interpol agent climbed out of the cab and paid the driver four dollars as he walked into the hotel and rode the elevator to the suite. Once he walked inside he avoided looking directly at Colin as he walked over to the laptop on the desk.

"So how is my Baby; do you have any good news?" Colin asked as he put the book down that he was reading. He looked at the camera as Dante pulled the card out once more "He's scared out of his wits that you're coming for him and his handler showed up after I called him to torture him a bit," he replied quickly.

Colin snapped his head back to face Dante "I told you to let me take care of frightening my Baby. Now Burke is going to be over protective of Neal and he won't let him out of his sight," Colin said grabbing a bottle of wine and uncorking it. After pouring the remaining wine out into a glass, Colin corked it again as he walked up behind Dante and when he moved closer he swung the bottle catching Dante on the side of the head.

Hissing loudly Dante grabbed the side of his head "You're certifiable Traux, you know that," Dante growled as he got up from the chair and went to the bathroom to grab a towel. "Unless you have forgotten; let me remind you that I still have friends in Interpol," he said leaving the bathroom with a towel pressed firmly against his head.

"We have to change our tactics now thanks to you, the next time you go out leave your phone behind, chances are Burke is going to try and trace it so turn it off now if you know what's good for you," Colin warned as he picked up the shards of the wine glass. "You should let me check for glass shards in your wound or you're just making it worse by pressing against it," Colin said as he ripped the towel away. Right away Colin pulled a few shards out of Dante's wound.

Colin smirked as he pulled some of Dante's recently grown hair back a bit before pushing the towel against the bloody wound. "You look good with long hair, it fits you better," Colin remarked as he checked the wound once more. "I'm sorry for that Sweetie, I shouldn't have done that since you're so well behaved that but I was mad that you did something so wreckless," he added reaching down and turning Dante's hand to reveal a brand on his wrist.

"Here drink this, it will make the pain go away," Colin said as he handed Dante the wine glass. "I want you to stay in the rest of the night," Colin ordered as he put a bandage on Dante's head.

* * *

Neal groaned in his sleep as he rolled over wrapping himself tighter in the blankets; he felt light headed as he opened his eyes. He had been asleep for no more than twenty minutes before felt the urge to wake again. "Mmm… Peter… you smell nice," Neal mumbled still under the influence of the sedatives.

Peter chuckled as he walked away from the kitchen stove where he had some canned soup cooking for Neal. "That's the soup I'm making for you. June said you haven't eaten much recently," he said giving the soup a quick stir.

"I'm not talking about now, I'm talking about in general… you always smell so nice. I just never had the guts to say anything…I just wish you would stop wearing such cheap suits; because I know you're not a cheap man at all," Neal mumbled again as he put his arm over his eyes as he fell back asleep. The agent rolled his eyes as he turned the heat down on the stove and moved the pot of soup to a cool burner. Peter covered the soup before walking over to Neal's bedside to check on him. "Neal… can you tell me who called you before?" Peter asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Neal rolled over and curled around Peter like Satchmo would do sometimes. "It was Dante…he said I spilled coffee and I did. My shirt was dirty too," Neal grumbled as he sat up in bed his head felt like it was spinning. "Peter, do you like spending time with me or am I a burden on your life?" the ex con asked as he pushed the pillows up so he could sit up in bed.

Peter looked at the younger man "Neal, I don't find you a burden at all… whatever gave you that idea?" Peter asked as he looked at his friend. "It was something Colin said to me once; he said that you find me a burden," Neal said as he began to sober up from the drugs. "Forget about him and if he comes anywhere near you I'll shoot him," Peter said with a smile as he clapped Neal on the shoulder.

* * *

The rest of the week passed without any problem. Neal had solved numerous small fraud cases to keep his mind busy while looking forward to the museum trip the next day with Peter. Neal looked up when Diana approached him. "Can I help you?" he asked with a smile.

"Actually I was thinking maybe I can help you," she said holding up the report Neal had just given her. The report had been decorated in the margins with little doodles of flowers and birds. "I was hoping you could maybe explain this?" Diana asked with a smile.

Neal made a grab for the report "I just got a little bored with the talk is all; I'll rewrite the report before Peter sees it," Neal said as Diana pulled the report away. "No way not until you explain these drawings, you did them without realizing it didn't you?"She asked as she put the report in her folder.

Giving a defeated sigh Neal looked at the female agent "Fine I was day dreaming about something and I ended up drawing on the report I was writing." Neal admitted as he made another grab for the paper only to have Diana step back out of Neal's reach. "What were you day dreaming about?" She asked with a smirk.

The ex con stood up and made one more grab of the paper, just as his fingers brushed against it the paper was pulled away this time by Peter. "So this is why I haven't gotten the report, you two are messing around out here," Peter said as he looked down at the report and saw the drawings.

"Cute and Neal tomorrow about our trip to the museum I'm going to have to cancel I have to do an interview for this art heist. Maybe we can reschedule for next weekend." Peter said as he watched Neal's face fall.

Diana knew Neal had been talking about the trip for days. "I'll do the interview tomorrow I know how much Neal has been looking forward to this trip so it will be fine," Diana said with a smile as she walked back to her desk to call Christie and fill her in.

Neal looked up at Peter with a smile "I plan on teaching you about so much art tomorrow that you will have respect for everything around the world more than normal," Neal said as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. Peter chuckled and knocked Neal's feet off the desk. "I'll pick you up at seven and we'll have breakfast first then go to the museum for a few hours and you can teach me about art; how does that sound?" Peter asked.

The younger man smiled "It sounds like a date," he joked as he got up from his desk and walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself another cup of coffee._ I haven't heard anything from Dante and Colin in days, maybe it was just a bad nightmare,_ Neal thought as walked back to his desk. Peter watched his partner close.

"I'm going to be at my desk if you need me," Peter said as he walked away from Neal's desk and back to his own. He had worried about the younger man all week. Now that the week was almost over he had a feeling that Colin would try something. Jones walked into the office carrying a large envelope "This just came for Neal but you said you wanted to look at his mail first," Jones said handing the envelope over.

Peter grabbed his letter opener and slit the tape open. He looked up to make sure Neal was at his desk before dumping the envelope onto his desk. The contents of the envelope clattered against his desk. Looking down both men saw a collar and a tag reading Baby. Peter grabbed the collar and stuffed it into his top drawer. "Never mention that to Neal," Peter warned.

Jones nodded his head before walking out of the office as he looked across the bullpen at Neal who had taken to doodling in the sketchbook he brought to work that morning. Jones then walked back to his desk and began to type another report up.

Neal had an uneasy feeling that he was being watched but when he looked up he saw no one looking at him he decided to check his email instead. He signed onto his private email that kept for private contacts and family instead of his FBI account. After making sure that no one was watching him type in his password Neal saw a few emails pop up.

Three emails were from his mother and one from his aunt. Neal opened the letter from his aunt; he looked it over for a couple seconds to mentally translate the message._ So Dante quit his Interpol job that would have been nice to know a head of time; I should check this email more often._ Neal signed off his email and opened up the website for the museum, he the museum he and Peter were going to visit before typing in a few things and smiling at the news. After closing the website Neal scribbled some notes down. He looked at his watch as he counted down the time 'til he would be spending the day with Peter.

* * *

Dante yawned as he downed a third cup of coffee. "I've been watching him all week, I hand delivered the package to the FBI where I could have been recognized, and I have pulled double all nighters watching my cousin for the last two nights to see how he would react to your gifts and it was all for nothing...there have been no reactions" Dante said as he ordered a fourth cup of coffee.

Colin rubbed his chin "Maybe it's time I do some asking of my own to find out how m pet is feeling about his gifts, and being at an internet friendly coffee shop is a good thing," he remarked as he opened up his email and began to write a quick email to Neal.

"Now you're sure that this email address is still in use?" Colin asked as Dante brought over two more coffees. The former agent nodded as he poured the sugar into his coffee. He had never used the email but he had seen his mother use it many times to keep in contact with his cousin. "I think he still uses it;" Dante said as he stirred his coffee with a plastic stirrer.

Once the email was finished Colin clicked on the send button and signed off the computer. "There is a good chance they'll trace the email so we should get going as soon as possible so we're not caught because as soon as Neal opens that email we'll be able to get into the FBI computers;"Colin said with a smirk as he grabbed his coffee and left the shop with his current pet catching up from behind him.

* * *

Neal realized he had forgotten to read his mother's emails so he re-logged into his email when a new email popped up from an unknown address; he looked at the subject line as he clicked on email and then after reading the email he suddenly realized who it was from and shakily stood up and walked into Peter's office and asked "Hey Peter…I just got an email from Colin, he asked me about the gifts and if I liked them. Care to explain?"

Peter sighed and pulled the desk drawer open and pulled out the dog collar, a tightly folded up leather skirt and a small stack of photos out of his top drawer and dropped them on his desk. "I informed everyone that any mail addressed to you came through me first, I did it to protect you," Peter admitted as he looked down at the items on his desk.

"Thanks Peter, I'm glad I have you looking out for me. I'll just erase that email and get back to work," Neal said as he kept his gaze away from the items on Peter's desk. The FBI agent nodded his head slightly. "Get as much done as you can before six, I'm actually going home for dinner tonight on time," he said smiling at his little joke.

The ex con laughed "Hey you're not chasing me anymore so you should be able to make it on time for dinner more often now," he said as he walked out of the office with a new spring in his step. Peter worried about his friend when his friend had shown no emotion to the email. Moving to the open door he hung around the corner "Neal how about coming over for dinner El wouldn't mind" he offered with a warm smile.

Neal shook his head "I'm fine Peter, you don't need to worry, I'm not freaking out about that email because I know you'll protect me you always do." He said as he practically danced down the stairs to his desk to delete the email.


	3. Chapter 3

((Do not own, slight slashy slash and cool action and face to face Colin Neal action))

**Chapter 3: If I Had You**

Peter looked across the table at Neal as the ex con twirled the fork in his fingers. "I can't believe we're actually going out on a date," Neal said as he watched Peter choke on his orange juice. "It's not a date," Peter said as Elizabeth walked into the dining room.

"I'm so glad you decided to stay the night Neal especially with everything going on recently and honey it's a date no matter how much you deny it," she laughed as she kissed Peter on the cheek before grabbing her bag "I'll be back later tonight so have fun at the museum and don't let him keep you from having fun today Neal," Elizabeth added as she ran out the door.

Neal smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively at Peter with a chuckle. The agent rolled his eyes "Just eat your French toast and let's get going there is a basketball game on at three and I don't plan on missing it." Peter said as he grabbed the newspaper off the table so he could check the times once again on the games for the weekend.

The ex con looked up from his food with a devilish smirk. "You need to tape it then; we're not going to be home 'til after dinner tonight," Neal said as he quickly finished his breakfast and put his fork and knife down on the plate. "I'll tape it then since I know you're going to make sure I miss it," Peter said as he walked over to the coffee table and picked up the television remote and began to run through the steps to program the cable box to record his game before they left.

After cleaning the table and washing the dishes Neal ran upstairs and got changed so when he came back down he was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a forest green tee shirt. "I didn't know you even owned a pair of jeans," Peter commented as he looked Neal over. Neal smirked and looked down at himself.

"I am a normal man sometimes Peter I do have comfort clothes that I wear on the weekend when you're at home," Neal said as he grabbed his jacket from the banister. Peter grabbed his keys and shoved them into his pocket. "Neal before we go I thought you should know that Doctor Parker wanted to watch us interact today, but he canceled this morning," Peter said looking at his friend.

Neal smirked as he opened the front door "Oh I know I overheard you on the phone this morning, now let's go I want to get there before it gets too crowded the crowds get there." Neal said as he grabbed Peter by the hand and dragged him out to the car.

* * *

Colin tapped on the steering wheel as he watched Neal and Peter climb into Peter's car. "It looks like they're off; I wonder where they're going this early?" Colin asked as he looked at Dante in the passenger seat. "I don't know I'm not a mind reader," Dante said in a sarcastic tone. As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. Colin smirked "I don't expect you to read his mind Sweetie, I expect you to read his actions," Colin reprimanded as he started the car and followed behind Peter's car.

Dante fidgeted in his seat as they drove he looked out the window and saw the museum as they pulled into the parking lot. "I hate museums they're so boring," Dante whined as he was dragged inside by Colin.

He shut his mouth as Colin left his side to pay for tickets and when the other man returned Dante motioned his head over to the direction he saw Peter and Neal go. "Can't you go alone; I know that if it came down to it you would leave me behind to get him. I know you very well," Dante said as he went off toward the direction his cousin went.

Colin kept a close eye out as he walked beside Dante, and saw Neal having fun with his partner. "Just remember once we get my Baby back you won't have to worry about a thing. I won't get rid of you like I did with the rest of my pets," Colin said with another smirk.

The former agent looked away "That would be a blessing, I've been under your thumb for years," he said walking away to look at a couple paintings while he kept watch on Neal as he showed Peter around the hall.

* * *

Neal looked beside him at Peter as they stood before a painting "I can't believe you don't see the beauty in this work, it's a little dark of course but there is a lot of beauty in this painting," Neal said trying to get Peter to enjoy the artwork.

"I know what will get a reaction out of you that even you won't be able to deny," Neal said as he led Peter down another hallway unaware he was being followed. "This is a new exhibit called Rave art; it's where local artists use bright neon paint to create works of art and then the paintings are put in a gallery under black light to glow. I sent in a painting, Mozzie dropped it off for me since this is just out of my range," Neal said pulling Peter through a doorway into a darkroom.

Peter looked around the brightly colored paintings on the wall. He saw the usual common art work of the basic art student hoping for a big break. Neal smiled and grabbed Peter by the shoulder and turned him around on his heel to look at the painting behind him.

Behind Peter on a square column was a five foot tall four foot wide painting of Kate. Peter was stunned at the beauty that Neal had captured with the bright colored paint. "Neal this is amazing, I know if Kate were still alive she would have loved this," Peter said as he tore his eyes away from the painting.

"I know I did this in her memory, it just felt right as a way to pay tribute to her after all this time," Neal remarked as he looked over the glowing painting of his girlfriend. "I don't miss her as much as I used to, is it wrong that I've moved away from her memory so quickly?" he asked his friend. Peter thought for a moment "It's not wrong at all, it's time you healed Neal, and it's been months since it happened," Peter said examining the artwork.

He was amazed at just how beautiful the artwork was Peter knew that if Neal had gone legit with his artwork he could have been famous for that instead of being a criminal.

"Neal, I think this is a wonderful tribute to Kate I think this is your best work of art because it's not a forgery it's the real things and it shows your talent as an artist… a real artist," Peter complemented as he put his hand on Neal's shoulder before he walked around the back end of the room leaving Neal to look into the painted eyes looking out at the world from the dark canvas.

Colin walked up to the door to the exhibit hall and slipped into the dark room with Dante and made his way silently across the room keeping to the shadows in the room that would let him get close to Neal 'til he was standing right beside him. "You do very good work Baby, if I knew you painted so well I would have forced you to paint some things for me," Colin said as Neal spun toward him.

Keeping a level head Neal locked eyes with Colin "I was wondering when you would meet with me in person instead of hiding in the shadows like the rat you are," Neal hissed he swore he would never be taken so easily. Colin chuckled and put his hand on Dante's waist and held him close. Dante looked away ashamed at the hand on his waist he hated the affection Colin gave to him. He looked up at the painting that Neal had done.

"Now Baby it's time to come home, I miss you very much… now unless you want your friends to suffer you'll listen to me," Colin warned as he tightened his hand against Dante's waist causing him to squirm.

Neal looked over his shoulder before looking back at Colin "No, I'm not going with you I'm not afraid of you anymore. You don't scare me Colin," Neal said bravely as he tried to keep his voice from wavering. Colin chuckled "You're still scared I can hear it in your voice Baby," Colin remarked walking forward and pulling Dante with him.

Peter looked over at Neal and saw him cornered by two men, as he walked over he recognized the men right away. "Neal, come over here right now," Peter ordered waving Neal over to his side. Neal moved over to the agent's side and stood close to him. "If you come any closer to him I'll take care of you myself."Peter warned as he walked Neal away from Colin and Dante.

"Baby if you walk away you'll be condemning all your friends to death and you can't protect him forever Burke. I'll get my pet back from you someday," Colin threatened as he walked away with Dante by his side. Dante looked behind him and saw his cousin standing beside the FBI agent.

Colin smirked as he walked away "I'll be leaving you alone tonight Sweetie and while I'm gone I want you to make your way to our designated safe house in the city and get it ready for my pet who has a tendency to run off so make sure the digital locks are all online," Colin said as he let Dante go.

Nodding his head Dante walked off and made his way out of the museum and down the sidewalk._ The first thing I'm going to do when I get there is shower then I'll check his stupid locks on the doors._ Dante thought as he pulled his jacket tighter and walked down the sidewalk to the luxurious safe house.

* * *

Peter looked at Neal "He's wrong I can protect you for as long as it's needed, now forget about him. I'll rush the paperwork on so that the FBI can keep an eye on you when you're not at work. We'll catch him and this time the charges will stick." Peter promised he led Neal out of the exhibit and down another hall.

Neal looked and when he saw that Colin wasn't around he lowered his guard and smiled "I've always loved this museum it's so peaceful," Neal said as he walked over and looked at a few paintings. "Tonight can we get Italian take out and just watch TV at your place?" Neal asked with a smile.

"I thought you would like to go out to dinner but I like your idea about just watching TV; if we hurry we can catch the tail end of the game," Peter said as the made their way toward the exit.

Shaking his head Neal smiled "We're going to watch a movie with dinner, Elizabeth told me to enjoy today and I am," he said as he wrapped his arms around Peter's arm and walked back to the car with him.

Rolling his eyes Peter managed to pull his arm free from Neal's grip "As long as it isn't a cheesy romance movie then I'm fine with that. It has to have a little action in it to keep my interest," the agent said as he fished his keys out of his coat pocket.

"I promise it will be a good movie and to your liking," Neal promised as he got in the car. "If I don't have fun today I'll tell Elizabeth," Neal warned in a joking tone.

They rolled away from the museum and made their way back to the Burke's house, Neal walked inside and grabbed Satchmo's leash and hooked it to the dog's collar."Let's walk first to build up an appetite," he added as he began to walk down the sidewalk forcing Peter to catch up to him.

The walk took them around the park, while Neal watched everyone walking by. "Watching everyone being so happy with their lovers hurts, but it's not a terrible pain it's more of a karmic reminder that no one can be truly happy. But I am happy despite the fact I should be miserable, with all the pain in my life. If it wasn't for you and Elizabeth during the last eight months I don't know what would have happened to me," Neal said as he made a U-turn around the fountain and started to head back the way they came.

Finding the outburst odd Peter still didn't miss a beat as he walked up beside Neal and grabbed him by the forearm and forced Neal to look him in the eyes. "I don't want to hear that kind of talk again. If you ever start talking like that again I'll march you straight to Doctor Parker's office and force you talk to him," Peter warned as he searched Neal's face and eyes for a reaction.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound so serious. I just meant I had no idea if I could be the pet…con everyone thinks I am or go back to my old life of alleged art thefts," Neal admitted as he let Satchmo lead him down the sidewalk and out of the park, toward the Burke's home. Once they got inside Neal removed the dog's leash and hung it up on empty hook on the coat rack.

Peter kicked his shoes off at the door and collapsed onto the couch he grabbed the remote and checked for the game, when he found it was over he sighed and watched as Neal sauntered over with a smirk. "We agreed on a movie of my choice and take out, I'll look for a movie on TV first while you get the take out menu," Neal said as he grabbed the remote and began flipping through the guide on the screen while looking at each movie channel closely. When couldn't find anything he began to look through the DVD's on the shelf till he found the movie he wanted to watch.

"Neal what do you want for dinner?" Peter asked as he brought out one of the take out menus to the living room. The ex con smiled and grabbed the menu and pointed out a few things that he wanted. Peter grabbed the cordless phone and walked into the kitchen and placed the order.

When he was done ordering he felt for his wallet as he saw Neal waving it in the air "Ho…when did you lift it?"He asked in an annoyed tone as he grabbed the wallet out of Neal's hand. Neal smirked "At the park when you grabbed my arm I couldn't help myself you were just such an easy target," Neal said as he smirked and snuggled into the pillows on the couch.

Giving a loud sigh Peter took his spot on the couch against the arm as soon as his feet were on the coffee table he looked down to find a pillow on his lap and Neal's head resting on the pillow. "You realize you'll have to get up when the food comes right," Peter remarked as Neal shushed him as the movie started.

"Lord of the Rings?"Peter asked only to be shushed once again. Not wanting to be annoyed anymore Peter shifted 'til he was comfortable and began watching the movie. Grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch he draped it over Neal.

When the food arrived Neal paused the movie and sat up, his hair was matted and tangled. Peter got up from the couch wallet in hand. He returned to the couch with the bag of food, he looked at Neal "Go grab the forks and the wine and we can start the movie up again," Peter said as he unpacked the food from the bags.

Neal walked into the kitchen and grabbed two forks and a pair of wine glasses. He walked back into the living room and put the glasses and forks down before going to get the wine. Taking a couple minutes to find the cork screw Neal returned to the living room and uncorked the wine and poured it into the glasses before re-corking the bottle.

Peter took one of the forks off the table and ate his dinner. Neal sipped his wine as he turned the movie back on and cuddled against Peter to keep warm. "I can't believe you never saw this movie all the way through," Neal remarked with astonishment as he watched the movie.

"Well let's see, I would have but I was busy chasing around some cocky young con artist that had to prove himself numerous times in the art world as the best forger and art thief… excuse me alleged art thief," Peter said correcting himself. Neal smirked as he spun some angel haired pasta on his fork. "Maybe I was showing off for a certain FBI agent," Neal laughed as he turned his attention back to the movie.

* * *

Elizabeth unlocked the front door and walked into the living room smiling at the scene before her. Peter covered in a blanket asleep on the couch with Satchmo resting his head in his master's lap. Neal walked out of the kitchen with a smile on his face "He fell asleep halfway through the movie so I turned it off and I did the dishes. Now I was thinking I would take Satchmo for a walk so you can relax," Neal offered taking Elizabeth's coat and hanging it up for her.

"Neal that's very sweet of you, I guess you and Peter had a good day today," she said smiling as Neal hooked the leash to Satchmo's collar. "It was a great day, we went to a museum, then we walked Satchmo in the park and we had dinner together and watched Lord of the Rings, well until he fell asleep," Neal said with a smile as he felt Satchmo tug him towards the door.

With a smile Neal grabbed his coat and rushed out the front door as the door snapped shut behind him when Neal put his coat on and walked down the stairs looking down at Satchmo. "We won't go too far since it's so cold out," he added as he leaning down to pet the lovable dog, who wagged his tail until he began to snarl, alerting Neal to look behind him he felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his body which turned his vision dark.

"I'm sorry it came to that Baby," Colin said as he moved out of the shadows towards the unconscious man. Satchmo moved over Neal's unconscious form and started to bark and snap at the man moving closer. Colin bent down and grabbed Neal's arm, using all his strength to pull Neal free. Satchmo lunged and took a tight hold of Colin's thigh.

Colin growled in pain and pistol whipped the lovable lab till he let go. "Stupid mutt" he growled as he dragged Neal into the waiting car before getting behind the wheel and driving off ignoring the bloody gaping wound in his thigh.

"Damn that dog, but I can't deal with it now that I have my pet back. I'll have to destroy that anklet somehow," Colin said to himself as he pulled up to a stoplight. Turning to face the unconscious man he took a screwdriver and jammed it into the lock and twisted repeatedly until the delicate mechanics inside the keyhole broke forcing the latch to come undone. With the anklet off Colin rolled his window down as he drove back into the city and threw the ankle monitor out the window.

Peter woke to the barking and had made it out the door just as the car sped away. Not being able to catch the license plate he ran over to his dog to find him whimpering in pain. "Good boy Satch…" he said rubbing the dog's back. Elizabeth stood at the top of the stairs as Peter walked back inside leading Satchmo behind him.

"Here, why don't you patch Satchmo up I need to make some calls," Peter said pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and calling Jones. After two rings the other agent picked up. "Don't ask questions, just get to the office this is an emergency, and get the team together right now," Peter said as he rushed around to get his shoes and coat on.

Jones rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock it was ten at night on a Saturday he knew that Peter wouldn't call the team together unless it was an emergency. "Did he make his move?" Jones asked as he pulled his jeans on.

Sighing into his phone Peter responded. "Right outside my house, and the bastard hit my dog. I'm far beyond pissed now," Peter hissed as he hung up and looked at his wife tending to their dog that they treated like a son. "I'm going to get Neal back right away I promise," he said with a weak smile. "I know you will and I want you both back safely," Elizabeth said with and encouraging smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**((Warning flashbacks consist of abuse and mentions rape, and the chapter contains mild abuse I don't own white collar yadda, yadda))**

**Chapter 4: Sleepwalking Past Hope**

Neal woke with a splitting headache it took him a moment to realize that he was laying on a bed and the sun was pour in through the uncovered windows. "My head… I guess I had more wine than I thought," Neal mumbled as he sat up and felt the blanket fall off revealing his bare chest.

"It wasn't the wine shrimp…that limey son of a bitch tasered you and brought you here, don't worry he didn't rape you he just thought your clothes were unfitting so he removed them." Dante said as he lifted his head a bit and stretched his arms in front of his face. He moved his hand up and touched the collar on his neck. "You've got a nice new one also," Dante commented as he got to his feet.

Throwing his hand to his neck Neal felt the collar and began to panic. "Get it off…get it off me," he cried as he started to break down. Gripping the collar tightly he pulled on it wishing it would snap like a twig.

Dante walked over and pinned Neal to the bed "Shut up… I can't stand listening to a baby like you" Dante growled as he punched Neal with a heavy fist making sure to leave a bruise on his cheek. "These collars were made special for us; there is a steel band under the leather that would need a bolt cutter to cut through to get them off so I'm in the same boat as you" he added as he got off his cousin.

Whimpering loudly Neal lightly touched his cheek gingerly only to wince at the pain. "Peter will find me again; he promised… that…Colin would never get me again…" Neal said softly as he realized that Peter's promise had been broken. As the realization that Colin had him again Neal felt himself slipping away.

"I guess trusting someone like him was a bad idea," Dante said as he walked over to the window and wrapped his fingers around one of the decorative bars. "Escape is going to be impossible so don't bother. I gave up years ago and when you give up he goes easy on you," Dante added as he looked out the window at Central Park.

Dante barely turned away from the view when he heard the digital lock unlock. "He's awake, but he's out of it. It seems like he realized that his knight in shining armor's promise was broken and that he's never getting free," Dante said turning around fully to face his owner.

Colin walked over to Neal and lifted his gaze up. "Poor Baby, I'll never leave you or break promises to you. Dante can tell you I'm not lying," Colin said as he looked into Neal's lost gaze. "Once you learn to listen we can go anywhere to live away from here," Colin added swiping his thumb across Neal's lips with a smirk. "I think it's time my pets eat breakfast to keep up their strength." He added as he looked at Dante "Get him dressed in the basics and to the table in ten minutes or I'll punish you," Colin warned as he moved away from Neal.

Not reacting at all Neal lowered his gaze to the blankets covering his lap as Dante walked over and looked down at the ex con. "You're a real mess shrimp," Dante mumbled as he walked over to the dresser and found a pair of sweatpants and threw them at Neal.

Once Neal was dressed Dante dragged his cousin to his feet and pulled him out to the dining room table and sat him down. Colin looked across the table at his returned pet and smiled as he watched Dante take his seat.

* * *

Peter groaned as he rubbed his eyes, he had been staring at the last three minutes of Neal's tracking information before the anklet had been cut. _Colin moved fast and hard he must have planned out every step of the way for that to work so well, _the agent thought as he reviewed the information again before walking into the conference room where nine tired agents were sitting trying to find where Colin had been staying.

"According to the tracker Neal was taken from my house at ten after ten, three minutes later while at a stop light the tracker was still working but as soon as they turn onto the bridge the tracker goes offline and ends up being thrown out the car window," Peter said as he paced the open area of the room.

The agents took silent notes on the information that none of them knew what to respond with. "Neal is not an agent but he is our consultant and friend. I don't care what plans you have cancel them no one is leaving this room until we figure out where he was taken and how we can get him back" Peter said slamming his hands against the glass table.

Jones looked up "We'll find him Peter, we should now pull together all the information we have on Colin," he said looking at Peter "You're the only one who has actually met him; so what do you know about him?" he asked as all the agents turned their attention to Peter.

"Colin Traux is an arrogant bastard who thinks he's above the law. He prides himself on having expensive and good looking things. This means, if he's in the city he'll be somewhere expensive or has a view." Peter said as he walked over to the map of Manhattan. I want a team to look around for any places that were recently purchased," Peter said as he began to pace around the room again.

The team began to break up and start the search for any records that would help them find Neal. Peter growled as he walked to Neal's empty desk and looked at the papers scattered across the top, and not bothering to keep up the privacy Peter opened Neal's top drawer and grabbed Neal's sketch pad and began to flip through it.

After finding a few first draft sketches of the painting Neal did Peter found one page filled with what looked like journal entries about different nightmares and dreams Neal had been having. Peter closed the sketch pad and put it back in the drawer. _ He was terrified of the idea of Colin coming back for him for months. He kept it so well hidden,_ Peter thought as he walked back to his office and paced again till he felt his anger starting to rebuild.

Letting his rage take over Peter punched his office door and growled in pain as he covered his injured hand with his left. He flexed his fingers a bit to check his injury, when he found only minor discomfort he released the held breathe in his lungs.

* * *

Colin looked at his pets and smirked at them, "Baby you're not eating, and if you don't you remember what happened last time let me remind you that I had to have you force fed you; so unless you want to be tied and beaten you had better start eating," Colin warned as he picked up his fork and speared a grape and put it in his mouth.

Neal kept his gaze down as he grabbed his fork and reached across the small table and jammed it into Colin's hand before releasing the handle and standing up from the table. "I'm not hungry," Neal said in a low voice as he walked from the table and made his way over to the couch.

Dante smirked and turned away as Colin ripped the fork from his hand and threw it across the room. "You little bastard..."Colin roared as he ran over to Neal and grabbed him by his hair before yanking him down to the floor. "You just lost all privileges; you'll get them back when you learn to behave," Colin growled as he gave Neal a swift kick in the ribs.

Crying out in pain Neal curled up in a ball to protect himself from anymore attacks. Colin smirked at the reaction and sat on the couch above Neal. "Bad pets stay on the floor, while good pets get to sit where they want, isn't that right Sweetie?" Colin asked as he looked over the back of the couch at Dante who hadn't moved from the table yet.

"Yes sir…" he mumbled as he got up and walked into the small kitchen area before coming back with a hand towel to clean the wound on the back of Colin's hand. Dante stepped over his cousin before sitting on the couch and handing the towel over.

Whimpering loudly Neal sat up and put his head on the edge of the couch near Colin's hand. The man looked down and rubbed Neal's hair "You're learning you place very quickly."Colin said as he kept playing with Neal's hair.

Neal pulled away and moved over to the large window and looked at the park._ Peter has to be looking for me…_ Neal thought as he gave another tug on his collar to find it stuck tight. Moving from the window the ex con walked around the open space taking in every inch of the apartment.

Grabbing a few slices of toast Neal munched on the meal as quietly as possible making sure his eyes didn't miss a thing. As he watched Colin out of the corner of his eye Neal spotted a cell phone on the small table by the front door. Neal looked over his shoulder at Colin before making a beeline for the phone and grabbing it before running into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

"Baby what are you doing in there?" Colin called looking at the bathroom door. Neal put the phone down on the edge of the sink. "I'm just washing up," Neal called flipping the phone open and dialed Peter's home phone number. The phone began to beep signaling it was made only to receive calls not to make them.

Getting up from the couch Colin walked over to the bathroom door and pulled out his spare key and unlocked the door. "Baby, you haven't earned the right to lock any doors yet," Colin said as he grabbed Neal by the collar and dragged him into the living room before throwing him to the floor where he stayed.

"Now you two need to clean up breakfast I'm going for a walk in the park. If you two stay out of trouble I'll get you something special," Colin said as he walked out of the apartment the door digitally locking behind him.

Dante got up from the couch and walked over to his cousin. "He really lets you get away with a lot, I wasn't as lucky…he used to beat me every day and have his way with me whenever he wanted for four year," Dante said as he jammed the heel of his shoe into Neal's hand.

"I prayed for him to either kill me or for someone to rescue me, the sad thing is when I finally bowed to his will he began to treat me better and show me the truth of the world. Then after four years I was able to go home and when I got back no one even knew I was missing." he growled as he dug his heel harder into Neal's hand.

Neal bit his bottom lip as he endured the pain in his hand. "The worst part of it is you go missing twice and Burke pulls in the whole damn FBI to look for a worthless con, I want to know what makes you so damn special. I was the law abiding citizen and I never got anything." Dante roared as he moved his foot only to bring it down hard.

Neal quickly moved his hand out of the way of Dante's foot before hiding under the island counter. "I'm sorry about that Dante but it's not my fault. If you hate Colin so much why do you, follow him like a lovesick puppy?" Neal asked from his hiding spot.

"I'm not a love sick puppy; I just find his way of life easier than my old one." he said looking down at Neal. Keeping his hand close Neal crawled out from under the counter. "I'm very sorry that all this happened to you and I sympathized because I know how it feels however I am surprised you ever gave up. What happened to the Dante that I knew as a kid who used to beat up guys six years older than him. The cousin, who even though he used to beat me, I still looked up to," Neal said standing before Dante.

Standing there for a moment Dante looked at his cousin. "You were always such a royal pain in the ass," Dante remarked as he walked into the bathroom and got the gauze tape before walking back to where Neal was standing.

"Give me your hand so I can bandage it. You moved your hand before I could do you too much damage and although I didn't break any bones I will put a splint on it," Dante said as he began to wrap Neal's injured hand.

* * *

Peter sat down at his desk to read the reports from his men on the apartments and town houses that had been recently purchased. After a few minutes of looking the purchases over it dawned on him that they were below Colin's standards of living.

Reaching over Peter grabbed his phone and called a real estate agent and asked about apartments or cooperatives in the area of Central Park near or on museum mile. After waiting a few minutes Peter got a four page list of apartments. "Can you send me the names who bought these properties… thank you; you can fax it to me at the FBI. Thank you very much good bye," Peter said before hanging up.

Leaning over Peter grabbed the papers from his fax machine. He stood up and called the team into the conference room. "I just got off the phone with a realtor that just found me a four page list of places that are directly on Fifth Ave. It's right in Colin's comfort zone. Six of the places were bought over three years ago but we can't count them out. Colin Traux owns places all over the world under various aliases," Peter said as he passed the lists around.

Jones looked the list over "We can ignore the ones still for sale which takes seven off the list. That leaves twelve more to check if we're looking for really high value and good taste I would go for the third one on the list," he said quickly.

Grabbing the list from Jones Peter looked down the list to the third one "It overlooks the park and the city. It fits his personality. Now we just have to find a judge that is friendly enough to give us a warrant since our evidence is that it fits a man's lifestyle," Peter said throwing the file on the table.

Diana picked up her coffee as the file slid towards her. "We'll find some evidence to connect him to that place," she said hoping to calm Peter down. Diana knew that her boss was worried about Neal. When the lead agent waved the others out Diana walked up to Peter and looked him in the eye.

"Neal is resourceful he'll get a hold of us somehow. He called us from Italy and that's an ocean away. If he's somewhere in a small section of the Upper East Side we'll find him," Diana said trying to help confidently as she tried to help.

Peter sighed and rubbed his forehead "I know he'll do something to catch someone's attention; he is Neal after all," the agent remarked as he put his hand over his eyes. "I should have told him that going outside was too dangerous but I fell asleep on the couch," Peter groaned sitting back at the table.

"My biggest worry is that Colin will take off in the night and we'll never find him again; and if Neal becomes too much of a problem Colin could kill him, it's his M.O. when his so called pets become to be too much of a problem," Peter explained as he put his head in his hands.

* * *

Colin took in a deep breath as he walked down the sidewalk and looked at the beauty of the famed Central Park. _It's going to take at least three days for the new passports and to change our looks enough for the new pictures. Knowing Burke he's already pulling together swat teams to locate us but without enough evidence he won't be able to do too much. _

_Neal is becoming a bit of a pain… it seems those seven months away from me gave him a back bone again. It __looks like I'm going to have to go __a bit over the top to make sure he knows how__ far I'll go,_ Colin thought as he walked to the model boat pond. Colin looked up at the buildings across the street.

"My pets must be missing me by now." Colin remarked to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back toward the park entrance. As he crossed the street the kidnapper gave a small wave to the doorman before he entered the building and took the elevator to his full floor apartment.

Pulling his hand from his pocket Colin dialed in the code on the keypad to unlock the door. He walked inside the apartment to only find a heavy silence in the air. "Sweetie… Baby where are you?" Colin called as he began his search in the kitchen and dining room.

Becoming very curious about where his pets ran off to Colin raised his senses as he walked down the hall; he heard voices in the small study, and as he walked into the room he found Neal and Dante cleaning the room. "It looks like I can leave you two alone for long periods of time after all," Colin remarked as he took a seat behind the desk. "Now go watch television you both earned it I have to check up on a few things," Colin ordered as he waved Neal and Dante out of the office.

Neal walked past the desk his injured hand clearly visible as he left the room. Dante put the book he was holding down on the table and began to head out of the room as well. "Dante please hang back for a moment," Colin requested as he watched Dante walked over.

"Why is my Baby's hand bandaged up?" Colin asked as he searched Dante's face for lies. The former agent nodded his head a bit before speaking. "I got mad at him for being the favorite so I crushed his hand under my foot but when he learned his lesson I bandaged his hand up. That's all there is to explain," Dante said putting his hand on his hip.

Colin smirked "Oh you were jealous, but now you're getting along now and that's good. Now you may go. I have to make a few calls to prepare," Colin as he waved Dante off. Dante walked out of the room and found Neal standing in the hall waiting for him; both captives then walked back to the living room with a sigh.

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Neal asked as he sat on the couch beside his cousin. Dante ran his fingers through his hair. "He wanted to know why your hand was bandaged and he thought right away that I was jealous of you," Dante said absently running his fingers over his own collar.

Looking over at his cousin Neal sighed, "We have to get in contact with Peter; he needs to find us before Colin takes us out of the country," Neal said in a worried tone. Dante sighed and ruffled Neal's hair softly "The only phone in this apartment that can make calls is the phone in his pocket."Dante remarked with a smirk. "So because I'm a pickpocket you want me to do it?" Neal asked.

"After dinner, every night he drinks a few glasses of wine and after that he isn't exactly lucid to everything around him."Dante said reclining on the couch with his arms behind his head. Neal sighed and rubbed his eyes, "If it's the only way to get a hold of Peter then I'll do it," the ex con mumbled with a sigh.

* * *

Colin turned his chair around so he was facing the window "I'm paying you good money for this, I better get what I'm paying for or you won't like the outcome," Colin warned leaning back in chair and watching the birds flutter around the window. "I don't care, do it by midnight" Colin ordered before hanging up the phone and slipping it into his breast pocket.

Walking out of his office Colin found his pets sitting on the couch. "You two get along while I make dinner, I'm going to make a few courses so it will be done in a few hours," Colin added as he walked into the kitchen and began to cook.

Peter sighed he found himself at another dead end at trying to locate evidence that would allow him to get a warrant. Sighing loudly Peter closed the file on his desk and shoved it into his lap top bag along with his computer. After saying his goodbyes for the day Peter made his way through the bull pen he stopped by Neal's desk for a moment.

As he tore his eyes away from the empty desk Peter came face to face with Hughes. "Watch your back Peter…" He said as he watched his agent walk out the doors.

Taking his phone out of his pocket Peter called home "Honey I'll be home soon, I'm going to work from home for a while and ask around if anyone saw anything. I'm rushing against a clock I know it," he said before hanging up and entering the elevator.

Once he got into his car Peter started his car up and drove though the city, and when he got home it was still early; grabbing his laptop bag before locking his car and walking toward his stoop he turned around to look at the street around him one more time. _Don't worry Neal I'm not giving up on you, _Peter thought as he turned back toward his house. It was as he raised his foot to the first step that he heard a series of loud pops.

Right away he knew something was wrong when he hit the stairs hard, his vision was spinning when he heard yelling. Elizabeth had heard the popping noise; being the wife of an FBI agent she knew the sound was gunfire and immediately ran outside and saw her husband lying on the steps of their home bleeding from numerous wounds.

"Peter! Oh my God, Peter," Elizabeth sobbed as she knelt beside her husband and pulled him into her arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**(Warning slash, violence and character death etc… etc… etc I do not own I make no money this is my holiday gift to you, I hope you review hehe love you all BBB. )**

**Chapter 5: The Funeral of Hearts**

As Dante woke early the next morning he thought back on the evening before how when the after dinner attempt on lifting Colin's phone didn't go as planned like he and his cousin had planned. Neal had become ill after dinner and had to be put to bed early forcing them to abort their plans of escape for another day.

Walking out of the bedroom Dante found Colin watching the morning news, and after placing himself on the other end of the couch Dante looked over his shoulder when he heard someone in the kitchen. "I didn't think you would be up before me you must be feeling better then." Dante remarked with a small smile as he turned back to the news; he normally found the news to be uninteresting.

Neal walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates of breakfast, as he opened his mouth to speak when he caught the headline of the next report out of the corner of his eye.

"In other news this morning Special Agent Peter Burke of the FBI's White Collar Crimes Division was gunned down in front of his home early last night. Agent Burke was well known for his most famous capture of the art thief and forger Neal Caffrey. We here at channel five news extend our condolences to Agents Burke's friends and family, a private funeral services will be this weekend for the fallen agent. The FBI has opened up a tip hot-line for any information on the shooting," the young female reporter said in her same emotionless voice.

Her words struck Neal deep in his heart he felt his arms go weak; Neal barely reacted when the plates he had been carrying fell from his hands and shattered on the floor. Colin picked up the remote casually and turned the television off and got up from his seat on the couch and walked over to Neal. "Clean up this mess before the food stains the rug!" he said as he looked at Neal's tear streaked face.

Moving over to his cousin Dante put a comforting arm around him before leading Neal back over to the couch to calm him down. As he noticed his cousin was in shock, he knew that when the shock wore off Neal would be inconsolable.

Colin sighed and walked over to the couch. "Baby…I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking; you're in pain right now. Sweetie why don't you clean up the mess" Colin said as he moved over beside Neal on the couch. "It will be alright Baby, I'm here for you" he said softly as he pulled Neal into his arms and rub his back.

Neal stared at a single spot on the floor. "Peter can't be dead; he just can't be…he's a good guy and… he can't die…"Neal mumbled as he began to rock in Colin's arms. "This is my fault; I should have just done my time in jail and been a good person…" Neal cried as he let himself be held by his captor.

Dante watched his cousin closely; as he quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor. "Maybe it would be nice if you allow Neal to say goodbye to Burke at the funeral," Dante said as he pulled Neal out of Colin's arms and into his. "I'm taking him to our room he needs to lay down" Dante added as he stood Neal up and led him to the smaller bedroom they shared. Once he got Neal into bed Dante rubbed his back.

"If I can get him to let us go to that funeral we can get away and be free," Dante said trying to give Neal a brighter outlook. Neal sat up and looked at Dante "What's the point… the two people I love are dead. When Kate died Peter was there for me and now that he's gone there is no point in even try to fake it anymore," Neal said looking out the window at the New York sky line.

* * *

Diana walked into the conference room with a cup of tea "Here Elizabeth, its chamomile…" she said placing the cup of tea on the table in front of the other woman. Elizabeth kept her hand over her mouth the edges of a tissue poking out from behind her hand.

Satchmo whimpered as he raised his paw and patted Elizabeth on the leg a few times. He knew something was wrong when his affection was ignored. With a one more pat he lay down at Elizabeth's feet and closed his eyes to rest.

After dabbing at a few more tears Elizabeth looked at Diana as she still stood across the table. "Oh… sorry, thanks for the tea… and thank you for bringing Satchmo back. I couldn't go back there right now," she said softly as she picked the tea up. "Diana… was there any reason why?" Elizabeth asked as she sipped her tea.

"I'm sorry; I can't discuss it since it's an open case. But just know that no one is planning on going home any time soon, we're dedicated to finding out what to happen to Peter. Right now it's not safe for you to go home; is there anyone you can stay with for now?"Diana asked

Elizabeth looked down at Satchmo again "no, my sister lives in San Francisco and she's also allergic to dogs. I'll try and find someone around here to stay with. Besides I still have to … finish the funeral arrangements." Elizabeth said as she started to cry again. Right away Diana was ready with a new box of tissues, she had a probationary agent go out and find as many tissue boxes as he could earlier that morning.

"Elizabeth you know that that we'll take care of that for you, Hughes said he has already started to take care of it," Diana said just as Reese Hughes walked into the room. "Can you give us a minute?" he asked as he stepped away from the door to let Diana walk out before closing the door.

Hughes walked over to the windows for a moment to look at the gray skies. "Normally we don't divulge information like this but you deserve to know. We think Peter was shot because the man that kidnapped Neal is planning on making a run for it and he thinks that we would be too distracted to go after him," Hughes said as he took a seat beside Elizabeth.

Taking in a deep breath Elizabeth wiped away the fresh tears with a new tissue. "So this man felt so threatened that he had my husband killed, Reese… I thought it was safe for Peter to work the White Collar Crimes division. This makes me sound horrible but ever since Peter started to work with Neal things have gotten dangerous…right now I could care less if Neal is safe," Elizabeth said regretting instantly what she had said about Neal.

"I don't mean that… it was a horrible thing to say, I know what Neal went through the first time with this man. Please find this man and make him pay for everything," Elizabeth said reaching down to pet Satchmo.

Diana watched the conference room from her desk she couldn't imagine the pain Elizabeth was going through._ It's killing her to not know what happened to Peter, _she thought as she started to go through the small pile of witness statements that had been collected the night before from the neighbors that lived next to the Burkes.

Every agent had put their personal lives aside for this case; their families and loved ones understood what a fallen agent meant.

* * *

Colin walked into the smaller bedroom and found Dante sitting by the king size mattress protectively. "Sweetie, I would like to talk to Neal alone for a few minutes, so can you get lost for a while?"Colin asked as he produced a medium size list. "We're running low on food and you're the only one I can trust to go outside since I'm a very wanted man and my Baby here is not quite himself right now," Colin said as he walked over and shoved the list into Dante's hand.

Shoving the list right back Dante looked back at his cousin. "Then wear a hat, I'm not going anywhere right now. Neal isn't well right now and leaving him alone with you is like leaving a lamb for a wolf to devour," Dante remarked with a smirk as he stayed close to his cousin.

"It's going to be fine, the shop is just down the street and I'm going to be in the study the whole time. It might make him feel better if you got him some of his favorite things. I know for a fact that he likes ginger snap cookies and you have my permission to go over budget to buy more than one bag," Colin said as he shooed Dante out of the bedroom door.

Neal looked at his cousin "I'll be fine, you shouldn't worry about me so much," he said softly as he watched his cousin look back once more before grabbing the list and walking out of the room cursing under his breath.

Colin walked over to the bed and sat beside Neal "I know you are very upset right now but maybe a drink will help you feel better." Colin said as he quickly left the room to return only moments later with two glasses and a bottle of Grappa.

"I thought you would like something a little nicer than cheap American beer or Vodka. So how about a couple glasses to calm you down a bit," Colin offered as he put the glasses down on the small bare table in the room.

Giving a forced chuckle Neal looked at his captor "Don't insult my intelligence; I know you want to take advantage of me. So just do it already, there is no reason for me to fight back," a depressed Neal said as he grabbed the bottle of Grappa opening and pouring himself a full glass. "Cheers I guess," he mumbled as he poured himself a full glass before instantly downing it.

With a large smirk Colin poured himself a drink as well. "Cheers then," he replied and downed the glass. He held the bottle up and poured Neal another glass "Don't drink it too fast or you won't enjoy yourself," Colin added as he worked on his first glass.

Neal downed the second glass before leaning back against the pillows "I shouldn't be enjoying myself at all." He said as he looked away from Colin and out the window at the city. Colin smirked as he finished his first glass. "As you wish Baby," the older man remarked as he put his glass on the small table.

"I'm glad you don't wear a shirt to bed it makes this so much easier," he remarked taking a seat on the bed beside Neal.

* * *

Dante entered the market and walked around looking for the items on the list; he sighed and filled the basket with cookies and fresh cuts of meat._ I shouldn't linger too long, who knows what he's planning,_ Dante thought as he collected the rest of the food before paying for it and walking out of the store.

Walking as quickly as he could under the weight of the grocery bags he made his way into the apartment building and to the elevator. _I would take the stairs but these bags are way too heavy to carry up all those stairs,_ Dante thought as he pressed the button for the elevator.

Once he walked inside he juggled the bags before hitting the button for the top floor. Dante tapped his foot as the elevator climbed to the right floor. As the elevator doors chimed Dante once again juggled the bags to get his hand free to use the temporary key code that Colin had put on the shopping list for him.

He dumped the bags on the counter and shook his arms out as he walked down the hall to the bedroom. When he entered the room Dante saw Colin on top of his cousin, not missing a beat Dante grabbed the only lamp by the door and came in swinging; taking a home run swing Dante caught Colin on the shoulder.

Colin looked up with a smirk "Aw, are you jealous Sweetie?" he asked moving from the bed to stand up ignoring his injured shoulder.

Dante was enraged "Like hell I would be jealous of you, why the hell would I be jealous of a man that has to go as far as getting a person drunk to sleep with them. I know you, if you don't get your way you kill for it. Why else would Burke be gunned down he's your only competition in this game," Dante said with a smirk.

Neal blinked and rubbed his eyes to clear his head as best he could. "What are you talking about?" he slurred trying to get through the alcohol haze and connect the dots. Dante sighed "He hates competition so with your white knight Burke sniffing around; we wouldn't be leaving the country," Dante explained as he walked over to the bed and stood his cousin up. "So he must have hired someone to shoot him," he added.

"Now Baby, that's not true; when would I ever have the chance to call such a man?"Colin asked as he walked towards the door. "Well it doesn't matter anyhow, what's dead is dead and if you two leave you'll go back to jail Baby and I know you don't want that," Colin said as he walked out of the room and slammed the door shut with the digital lock clicking into place.

Colin walked down the hall to the open living room he collapsed onto the couch and grabbed the remote and turned the news back on. He checked the weather for the weekend and the rest of the news. _It looks like I'll have to get rid of Dante he's becoming more of a problem now that he's growing a back bone again, _Colin thought as he lay on the couch.

Giving a sigh Dante sat on the floor and put his head against his knees "I knew he would try something like that, that's why I took a page out of your book and lifted someone's phone. We're going to call the FBI and get out of here.

Neal groaned and made his way over to Dante and sat beside him, he grabbed the phone and looked at it "We're only going to get maybe five minutes of battery life left maybe less," Neal said as he shook his head to clear his mind as he dialed Diana's desk.

As the phone rang he reached over with his free hand and grabbed on to Dante's for luck as they sat together.

"Agent Diana Bara" Neal smiled and cut Diana off he knew the battery wouldn't last much longer "Diana be quiet we don't have a lot of time, we're across the street from Central Park….acr…from the …pond… top floor…nine hundred and thirty…" the message cutting out in the end.

Diana stood up "Neal…your breaking up," she said looking around for Jones when she saw him she began to snap her fingers 'til he ran over. When the phone call cut off she dropped the phone from her ear. "I need you to track the number that just called my phone. It was Neal, he's right were Peter said he would be," she said looking at the man.

Jones went to his computer after accessing the FBI phone logs he found the number that called Diana. "Okay I've located the number it's transmitting from a cell tower seven blocks from the park." Jones said as he noticed the team surround his desk.

"Neal said something about being across the street from the park and across from a pond so it's this area near the edge of the range," she said looking at the model boat pond on the map. "He said something about a top floor and the number nine hundred, but it sounded like there was more to the number," she said looking at the map after a moment a small blip came on the screen

With a small laugh Jones zoomed in on the map "I found him, now the only thing is we still need a warrant to go in there and if we knock on that door we could ruin everything. Colin Traux is suspected of kidnapping but we have no proof other than he's done it before, and remember he was found not guilty in court the first time," Jones said with a sigh…

"What's going on?"Elizabeth asked as she walked out of the conference room finally with Satchmo at her heels. Diana spun around quickly, "We located Neal; he called us, though we've run into a small snag about what to do next" Diana said dropping into a chair and sighing.

Elizabeth stood there "We'll just have to hope for something to happen I guess. Peter once said Neal is a determined person and if he wants to he can go anywhere even the funeral." She said looking at the map. Looking down at Satchmo Elizabeth sighed softly "You guys really need to get Neal back even though Peter's gone he shouldn't suffer any longer than he already has." She said as she scratched Satchmo behind the ear.

* * *

Neal stared out the window at the sleet and snow mix falling to the ground below. "Neal it's time to go," Dante called as he straightened his jacket and ran his hand through his newly colored hair. Giving a sigh Neal looked over at his cousin.

"You look good as a brunette, especially when you don't shave," he remarked as he glanced at his own new looks in the mirror.

"You look a lot younger with blonde hair; if I hadn't helped you I wouldn't recognize you. No one at the funeral will recognize you either," Dante said as held the front door open for Neal and Colin. When the three men got down to the street they hailed a cab and gave the address for the church where the funeral service was being held.

Colin looked over at Neal and Dante "If either one of you try anything I'll make you both suffer," he hissed as the cab pulled up to the street corner. All three men got out of the cab; Colin pulled his wallet out and paid the driver. "You know the drill blend in with the crowd and go in separately," he said as they stood back as a group of people walked by. Colin grabbed Neal tightly by his upper arm. "Try anything, and I will make sure you regret it I'm going to be watching you two very closely," he said as he squeezed Neal's arm for a moment before letting go.

Dante walked beside Neal as they entered the church. Both men took a seat in the back of the church. "There are a lot of feds here, we have to be really careful about what we do," Dante whispered as he looked around the small church.

"These are the men and women Peter worked with and their families," Neal explained as he lowered his head when people he knew walked by. Looking over his shoulder Neal watched as Colin enter the church and come up behind them and take a seat behind Neal in the last row of pews.

As the church filled silence fell over everyone as they waited for the priest to enter and start the service. Neal looked at the agents all around him._ Diana, Jones and Hughes I don't see them anywhere… they are very close to Peter so where could they be,_ Neal thought as he stared at the back of Elizabeth's head as the service began.

Neal barely listened to the service as the priest spoke._ This isn't right, Peter shouldn't have died…once I'm free I'll make it up to Elizabeth somehow. It's the only way I can pay her back for being the reason Peter died,_ Neal continued to think as he kept his head down, his newly dyed hair falling in front of his eyes.

* * *

Diana watched the monitors closely as the hidden camera panned over the crowd " I think we've got them…I mean it looks like Neal but the hair color is all wrong," she said zooming in on Neal who had lifted his gaze from the floor for a few minutes before looking back down.

"It's him all right; I think he was forced to change his hair color so he wouldn't be noticed. If we say that is him then the man to his right must be his cousin and again another change in color of hair," Diana remarked as she held a picture up of Dante to Hughes who nodded.

"That means that Traux is not far; if we make a move we have to be careful since there are a lot of innocent people in that church. You three take it easy I don't need a botched capture on the news," Hughes said as Diana and Jones left with another agent and made their way down the hallway to the front lobby of the church. Jones walked out and flanked left as Diana moved right both agents kept an eye open for anyone acting strangely.

Colin saw the agents out of the corner of his eyes he leaned forward as to bow his head in prayer "Sweetie, Baby we're going to leave now… it looks like we walked into a trap," he whispered as he pulled a switch blade out of his pocket and quickly opened it. "Sorry Baby but it looks like you get to play hostage again," Colin whispered as he grabbed Neal by his hair and exposed his neck as he put the blade against his neck.

Neal froze as the cold steel was pressed against his neck as he knew panicking would only end badly. Looking over as best he could Neal could see Jones ushering people out of the pews and out the back door quickly. When he felt Dante moving away Neal felt his fear level rising. "Let him go Traux," Diana called as she raised her gun from her holster as the rest of the church emptied out the back door.

Colin smirked and yanked on Neal's hair hard forcing him to stand up awkwardly before moving from the pews and into the aisle. "Back off or I'll cut him…" Colin warned as he pressed the blade closer to Neal's neck. When he saw agents moving in closer he spun around and moved down the aisle 'til he was cornered by the small steps that led up to the altar.

Feeling his blood pressure rise Neal began to panic that something would go wrong. _Oh god… Peter why did you have to die, I trusted you to protect me and now these probationary agents are going to get me killed,_ Neal thought as he began to panic with his breathing becoming more erratic than before.

As the agents began to move closer to circle Colin, Dante began to chew on his lip as he silently prayed someone would take the man down safely and with his gaze locked firmly on his cousin he barely saw the man who walked past him. "Drop the knife before I drop you," Peter yelled as he pulled his gun and pointed it at Colin. He knew that it was dangerous to mess with an unstable person.

Colin looked around at agents that had circled him. "Well Burke it looks like you won, I've heard about your American jails and I don't think that's going to happen to me," Colin said as he dragged the knife across Neal's neck cutting the skin deeply before shoving Neal into one of the agents that had closed in. "See you in hell, Burke," Colin laughed as he cut his own throat deeply and fell to the floor and began to bleed out.

Peter moved in quickly "secure him," he ordered as he went over to Neal and found him being helped to his feet with a handkerchief pressed against his cut; automatically Peter moved in and pulled Neal's head down onto his shoulder to keep him from seeing Colin. "I need an ambulance," Peter yelled as he moved the stunned Neal away from the body on the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Final Chapter folk's hehe, warning slashy, humor chapter, this is my Christmas gift to you all and I hope you enjoy. I want to thank Peppe again for continuing to crack to proverbial whip and keeping me focused and I want to thank all my fans for reading.**

**Chapter 6: Resurrection**

When the EMT's arrived Peter attempted to pry Neal off him but with no luck what so ever. "Come on Neal you have to get some stitches," Peter said softly as he led Neal to the ambulance. Dante looked at Peter and gave him a look. "It's good to see that you're alive, Burke… but it is for his for his sake more than mine," Dante remarked as he pulled his jacket closer to block out the cold.

Neal finally let go after one of the EMTs gave him a mild sedative to deal with the separation anxiety he seemed to be suffering from. They helped the semi conscious Neal into the back of the ambulance and had him lie down on the gurney. Dante got in back and gave Peter a dirty look before he let the medics close the doors.

Peter sighed for a moment before looking around the crowd that was when he saw Elizabeth and taking a deep breath he walked over to her "El, I'm so sorry that…" Peter was cut off when Elizabeth hit him with her bag in the shoulder.

"How could you lie to me like that? I could have been let in on this you know; not knowing that you were alive was terrible and you can sleep on the couch 'til I feel like forgiving you," Elizabeth huffed as she walked away from Peter so she could figure out how to deal with the news that her husband and the FBI had lied to her.

Knowing that he was already pushing it Peter still went after his wife. "Honey I'm so sorry it was a plan we came up with at the last minute after I was shot… everything went so fast that I couldn't call you. I was in surgery for hours then the FBI moved me before we could talk about it. Hughes decided it was best to move me and declare me dead; it was the only way to get Neal back," Peter said as he put his arms around Elizabeth.

Sighing softly Elizabeth looked around a bit "I'm glad that Neal is safe, but you're still sleeping on the couch," she said with a smile. Peter nodded "I should get to the hospital to check on Neal, I have to make another apology." He said as Diana walked over" here is the hospital Neal was taken to" she said handing Peter a slip of paper.

"Go apologize to him and you may be married to me and I have to forgive you Neal needs a bigger apology," Elizabeth said as she fixed Peter's hair before he left for the hospital. Peter took the FBI offered ride, and when he got there he flashed his badge and got all the information he needed.

Walking down the hallway he found Neal and Dante in a room in the ER, he knocked on the door frame and saw Dante and Neal look up at him. Neal smiled and sat up a bit more in bed. "Peter…I'm so glad it wasn't a dream. Dante could you give us a minute?" Neal asked looking at his cousin with the first smile on his face in a long time.

Dante looked over at Peter and took his hand away from Neal's. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here Burke and unless you're prepared to throw yourself at his feet and apologize for putting him through hell when he thought you had been killed then you can just get the hell out of here," Dante said getting angrier with each passing second, Peter gaped at Dante's anger.

"Do you know what he almost did? He almost allowed Colin to rape him because he was so depressed in thinking you were dead and life wasn't worth living," Dante added as he gave in to his anger and threw the hardest punch he could muster sending Peter into wall.

* * *

Neal scrambled off the bed and put his arms around Peter to keep him safe "Dante…. you promised you wouldn't hit him," Neal cried as he looked at his cousin asking silently for a moment alone with Peter. Giving a loud sigh Dante ran his hand through his hair. "One minute and then I want a word with you Burke," he said as he left the room to find a coffee machine.

"I'm so glad you're alive, Peter" Neal said as he kept a tight hold on his friend. Peter sighed softly "Neal I'm really sorry that it affected you like this. El said I need to make it up to you and I'll make it up to you somehow I promise," he said as he tried to peel Neal off of him. "Neal... was it true what Dante said about what you almost allowed him to do?" Peter asked

Looking down Neal slowly released Peter from his death grip. "Dante stopped him in time but he's telling the truth… I wasn't thinking straight at all," Neal said softly as he moved over and took a seat on the bed. "I was holding it in for a while but since Rome I've had a bit of a thing for you and when I heard you died it felt like everything just fell out from under me and I didn't know what to do." Neal admitted as he reached up and rubbed the bandage around his neck.

Peter sighed and put his hand on Neal's head and ruffled his hair a bit " We'll talk more about this later once you've had some rest you need it especially after the day you've been through," he remarked as he helped Neal under the clean sheets. "I'm going to go talk to Dante for a few minutes." Peter added as he walked out of the room and came face to face with Dante.

"If you're going to hit me could you at least explain to me how serious this infatuation is that Neal seems to have for me?" Peter asked as he took a seat on an empty chair in the hallway. Dante finished his coffee and threw the empty cup away. "It's pretty serious from what I can tell; he told me a lot about you and even how when he was with Kate and you were chasing him he found you amusing," Dante said as he looked at Peter.

"Before you go and trample all over his heart and make him wish he was dead again think over everything, and talk to your wife… a woman's advice would be good. I'll take Neal home and stay with him for a while so you can plan on how to hurt him worse." Dante added as he walked into Neal's room and closed the door behind him.

Peter rubbed his forehead to fight the oncoming headache he was having. He looked at Neal through the window once more before leaving the hospital and making his way home. When he got there Elizabeth was sitting on the couch waiting for him.

"I'm glad that you're here, we have to talk about Neal. I just found out from him and his cousin that Neal is quite seriously infatuated with me and apparently it's been like that since I was chasing him." Peter said as he took a seat beside his wife.

Elizabeth clapped her hands together and nodded her head a bit "I see, well there is only way to take care of this without anyone getting hurt and to make it up to both of us you're going to take Neal out and let him see for himself that it won't work out. But I'm warning you that if you intentionally hurt him I will hurt you. Neal is a sweet…sweet boy and you won't hurt him after everything he's been through by shooting him down right away," she said as she stood up and leaned over to give Peter a quick kiss.

"I can't do that I mean we're married and Neal and I are both guys," Peter argued as he tried to win an argument which he knew didn't have any chance of winning any time soon. "It's probably just going to be dinner alone and besides you two already went on a date remember and it made him very happy. Just make it special and then see how it goes from there," she added as she walked away.

Peter pinched his nose he knew that it wouldn't be easy to figure out what to do with Neal. In the end he decided to sleep on it and try and come up with a plan. Dragging himself from the couch Peter walked up the stairs and collapsed onto his bed and sighed loudly.

_Neal's a great guy but I can't date him… we work together and I'm married. I guess I just have to have dinner with him and let him down gently, _Peter thought as he kicked his shoes off.

* * *

Neal looked around his little apartment as Dante made dinner in the three days he had been gone the shelves should have had dust on them but as he looked he didn't see a speck anywhere. "It looks like June kept the place spotless in hopes I would come back," Neal said as he took a seat at the table.

"Dante…I don't think Peter is going to take me up on any offer I make. When I told him how I felt he said was that we would talk about it later," Neal said softly as he walked over to his wine rack and grabbed a bottle. Dante turned around and handed the corkscrew to Neal "Just give it some time, I don't think he's had too many guys admit they have romantic feelings for him" he said as he turned back to the food in the pan.

"I guess you're right, Peter is a very by the books kind of guy but I guess that's what won me over. Well, I was pretty lucky that I was cleared by the doctor to go back to work. I really didn't want to be stuck at home," Neal said as he uncorked the wine and poured it into the glasses.

When the food was ready Dante brought the pan over and served the meal. "We were in that ER room for some time while you got some sleep and then you were questioned before you were declared cleared for work. Now eat before the food gets cold," Dante ordered while he watched Neal eat the meal.

Dinner went smoothly as Neal poured himself another glass of wine while he caught up with his cousin. "Do you remember that one summer vacation when the family cruises around the Italian coast, I fell over the railing and you jumped into the water and rescued me," Dante said as he looked at Neal who had put his glass down on the table.

"Well you are my cousin… and because I pushed you when you were leaning over the railing to look at the fish in the water to begin with and I started to feel guilty for pushing you." Neal admitted as he swirled the wine in his glass a bit. Dante sighed and leaned back in his seat

"Well since we're clearing the air, I'm the one who sent the email that blew your cover in your undercover job. That was before when I was still mad at you. I also wanted to apologize for Christmas ten years ago when I kind of made out with Kate while you were in the other room," Dante said as he looked down at his wine. "I'm also sorry for breaking your arm, locking you in the closet, feeding you hot sauce, beating you up and shooting you with the BB gun," Dante added quickly.

After finishing his glass of wine Neal smirked "I'm fine with the making out, I took three-hundred thousand Euros for food from your bank account, you really should have used a better password and pin," Neal said with a smirk. "I'll make it up to you, that painting you wanted to bust me for stealing; it never left the country it's in your parent's house in the attic in a box right next to the door with my initials on it," Neal admitted as he poured himself another drink.

Dante laughed as he poured himself some more wine "So that painting was in my house the whole time I don't believe it… I won't even ask how you snuck it into the house," he remarked as he got up and started to put the dishes in the sink.

* * *

By midnight Neal and Dante were laughing and enjoying themselves with emptying a couple bottles of wine and getting to know each other better. "So you really did jump out of a judge's chambers?" Dante asked laughing.

Neal chuckled "Yeah I did, it was quite a rush but I don't think I'll ever do that again though," he admitted sipping on some more wine. "Maybe I should turn in soon after all I do have to go to work in the morning," Neal said yawning a bit.

Dante yawned "I'll crash on the floor, just remember not to step on me when you get up," he mumbled as he pushed his hair back a bit. Neal grabbed his wine glass and brought it to the sink and washed it out before he went into the bathroom and changed his clothes and took care of his nightly routine before walking out and grabbing an extra blanket to hand to Dante. "The couch is more comfortable than the floor," Neal offered.

"I'll see you in the morning, good night Dante," Neal said as he crawled into bed and turned the light off beside his bed. From the moment his head hit the pillow Neal was sound asleep. Dante gave a small smile as he adjusted himself on the couch and pulled the blanket up and soon he too was asleep.

* * *

Peter walked up the familiar front steps of June's home and out onto the terrace before he noticed that June was alone. She pointed at the open doors that led into the apartment before Peter could even form a question and not bothering to stop Peter walked into the apartment and found Dante asleep on the couch his body twisted into an odd position. Ignoring the other man momentarily Peter looked over at the large bed and found Neal curled up under the blankets.

"Neal…you're going to be late for work, now get up," Peter said as he grabbed the blankets and yanked on them until Neal groaned, "Just five more minutes, Mom," Neal said before realizing that it was Peter and not his mother demanding that he get up.

"Oh Peter… I'm glad you're here; I want to ask you out on a date how about Friday night after work. Just the two of us here for a nice simple dinner," Neal said before he was fully awake and climbed out of bed. It took him a moment to realize that he was standing nearly nose to nose with Peter.

Not wanting to make Neal upset Peter sighed and nodded slowly "Fine, and during dinner we can talk about us in a more relaxed setting. But for now just get up and ready so we won't be too late for work," Peter said as he tried to let on that he didn't think of the dinner as a date.

Ignoring the tone in Peter's voice Neal slid past Peter with a smirk on his face. "I just have time for a quick shower," Neal said knowing that he would only make them a few minutes late to work. Peter grabbed Neal by his upper arm and stopped him "There's no time, just get dressed and get him up, too. He's needed at the office also for some reason," Peter said as he let Neal go. Neal sighed and walked over to Dante and shook him awake.

Dante groaned and looked up at the two men "If you two are planning on having sex can you wait till I leave?" Dante asked with a smirk that earned him a frown from Peter and a heavily flushing Neal.

"I was kidding, you need to lighten up Burke…and I'm borrowing some clothes Neal," he announced as he got up from the couch and made his way over to the dresser where Neal was pulling out his own clothes. "I'll take something simple like jeans and a tee shirt I don't plan on staying long at the FBI office," Dante announced as he grabbed the clothes from the drawer.

While Dante was getting dressed Neal walked up to Peter and just watched him for a moment before smiling. "It's nice to see that you're not a figment of my imagination," he said as he walked out onto the terrace and grabbed a cup of Italian roast coffee to wait until Dante was ready.

Not letting the opportunity pass him by Peter poured himself a cup and took a seat across from Neal and watched him as he enjoyed the coffee. "It's good to have you back Neal; even though it was partly your fault… you never should have gone out alone. But part of the fault is mine too; I should have told you that it wasn't safe to be alone," Peter apologized as he put the empty cup on the table before standing up. "We're already three minutes late lets hurry up," he said as he ushered Neal and Dante out of June's and into his car.

As they pulled up in front of the FBI building Neal looked up at it like he had never seen it before in his life. They rode the elevator to the twenty-first floor and got off and walked into the office. Agents stopped what they were doing and came over to see the ex con and the not so dead agent.

Dante stood to the side before realizing after a couple seconds that he was being watched by his former boss who was standing at the top of the stairs pointing his pointer and middle finger at the former agent before waving him over. Letting out a sigh Dante made his way through the crowd of people and over to the man.

"Sir… I didn't expect to see you here; is there something wrong?" Dante asked as he kept his cool. The silver haired man looked at Dante "Well… reinstated Agent Caffarelli, It has come to my attention that we have no liaison between American agencies and to strengthen relations I've assigned you to work with the FBI and more specifically this division. Don't screw it up…" the man said as he shook Dante's hand before leaving.

Neal walked over and smiled at his cousin "Welcome to the team, it should be interesting work together," he added as he heard Peter groan in the background. "Don't worry he'll come around to having you work with us," Neal said laughing as he led Dante over to an empty desk near his.

"I still need to think of what to make for my dinner with Peter on Friday," Neal said as he leaned back in his seat. Dante thought for a moment "Cook from the heart, you know Burke just as well as he knows you. Make something he'll like," Dante suggested as he twirled a pen between his fingers. Neal smirked "I know exactly what to make," he said as he grabbed a blank pad to write a shopping list.

* * *

Neal paced around his apartment as he watched the timer on the stove he knew he had to shower before dinner. "I have time," he mumbled as he walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water and removed his clothes. _ If I timed this correctly then Peter should arrive just as I'm getting out._ Neal thought as he poured some shampoo into his hair and began to lather it up.

Peter looked at his wife "Do I really have to go? If I go he could end up getting the wrong idea," he said as he grabbed the wine Elizabeth was holding out to him. "Go and have a good time, and let him down as gently as you can, unless you enjoy the couch?" she asked with a smile.

"You drive a hard bargain; I'm also starting to think you enjoy the idea of me having an affair with Neal," Peter said as he grabbed his keys. Elizabeth smirked "Maybe, at least I know who it is and I like Neal he balances you out, now go or you're going to be late," she said as she shooed Peter out of the house.

When he got to June's Peter walked up the stairs to Neal's apartment and knocked on the door. A few seconds later Neal opened the door in nothing but a towel his hair damp and curling a bit. With a smile Neal stepped back and let his partner in.

"We're going to be eating out on the terrace; I had Dante help me set up earlier. We put up heat lamps so we can keep warm out there while we eat," Neal added as he let his towel fall a bit lower on his hips.

Peter brought the wine with him as he set it on the table before glancing over the wall and looking at the city. "I never get tired of this view," he said to himself as he waited for Neal.

The buzzer began to ring as Neal pulled his pants on causing Neal to abandon his shirt on his bed as he went over to the stove and turned it off. He pulled the pan out of the oven and smiled at the dish. "Perfect, Peter dinner's ready," Neal called as he cut the meat loaf and served a slice on each plate before he brought the plates outside. "Start without me I'm going to put on my shirt so I don't get sick," Neal remarked as he walked back inside and came back out wearing a nice shirt and simple loafers.

Peter had always been a fan of meatloaf but he rarely ate anyone else's other than his or Elizabeth's. Using his fork Peter cut the slice of meatloaf and brought it up to his mouth and began to chew on it. After he was done he looked at Neal with wide eyes. "This is just amazing; there is something about this meatloaf that I just can't put my finger on," Peter said truly entranced by the meal.

Neal smiled "I'm really glad you like it; I took a simple recipe for meatloaf and instead of just using ground beef I also mixed in some ground up Italian sausages and that's probably what you taste," Neal explained as he began to eat.

* * *

Dinner went by smoother than either man expected, Neal cracked open the wine Peter brought and poured them each a glass. "Now you wanted to talk to me about my infatuation as you put it… Dante told me everything the other night; he said that you weren't too pleased to hear what I admitted to you so freely," Neal said as he swirled the wine in his glass.

"I know that if it wasn't for Elizabeth you wouldn't be here right now, and I respect your relationship with her and I of course I respect Elizabeth a lot and that's why I called her the other night and asked her how she felt about any future between you and me," Neal said as he looked at his wine glass before he spoke again.

Peter looked up since he was very interested to see what his wife had said. "Elizabeth said she was fine with us being together, going out on dates, she also said she didn't mind hugging, kissing or cuddling but I am forbidden to sleep with you," Neal said with a smirk. "And I respect her wishes, and if they don't bother you would you be fine with them too?" Neal asked a slight tone of hope in his voice.

The FBI agent put his glass down on the table. "Neal… this sounds all well and good but we work together and if we started to see each other it could be bad for us job wise. Do you know what would happen if someone who we were after found out about us it could mean life or death" Peter said as he avoided answering the question directly. He just couldn't find the right words to let Neal down gently he looked up at Neal who had taken to looking at his wine for a moment.

Slight flickers of pain flittered across Neal's face, only to be forcibly hidden behind an emotionless mask. "I understand, it's getting late and I'm sure that Elizabeth will want details so I'll let you go." Neal said as he kicked off his shoes for the evening.

"Neal… I know it's not what you want to hear but I don't have the same feelings for you and I hope that you can understand that." Peter said as he reached a hand out to pat Neal on the shoulder. Neal slapped Peter's hand away "I don't need your sympathy, so you can leave now" Neal said as he tried to keep is pain and anger under control.

Peter didn't bother to look back as he left the apartment and climbed into his car and drove home. Sighing loudly he locked his car doors and walked into his house.

"So Burke how did dinner go?" Dante asked from his spot on the couch. Peter looked at the other man "I was wondering where you went since I didn't see you at June's" he remarked as he removed his jacket.

Dante stood up "Don't avoid the question Burke how did it go? Is Neal broken hearted?" Dante asked as he grabbed his own coat and started to put it on. Peter rolled his eyes a bit "I let him down as gently as I could, and I'll be showing you the door now" Peter said as he grabbed Dante by the arm and threw him out.

Elizabeth came out of the kitchen and looker at her husband. "Did Dante leave? Well that's too bad. So how did the date go?"She asked with a smile. Peter sat on the couch and let his head fall back "Dinner was great, he made meatloaf and the wine you picked was excellent. It was after dinner that was a tragedy I started off telling Neal that if we were together it would be dangerous and when it wasn't working I told him I didn't feel the same way and he kicked me out." Peter said with another sigh. "I care about Neal but not in that way and it will only take time for him to realize that," he added.

* * *

~Epilogue~

Neal walked into Peter's office with a small stack of folders "Diana wants you to sign these," he said as he dropped the folders in front of Peter before turning around to leave. But before he could leave Peter reached out and grabbed Neal by the wrist and pulled him back. Neal turned around and locked eyes with Peter, as he felt his heart begin to race a little.

"Please let me go Peter," Neal requested as his breathing began to increase. Peter shook his head as he kept a hold on Neal. "I'm not letting go until you talk to me and I mean a full conversation," Peter said as he kept his eyes locked with Neal. The ex con bit his lip and jerked his arm away "I have to get back to work; I'm just buried under paperwork," he said as he left the office as fast as he could.

Dante side stepped into Peter's office from his hiding spot in the conference room. "You still expect him to talk to you after you turned him down," Dante said as he crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk. Peter just glared at Dante since he knew the other man was right he was expecting Neal to talk to him.

"You know Neal is much easier to convince when he's pretty buzzed. All it took was six glasses of wine before he started to listen to me about how bad a person you are. It didn't take me too long for him to believe me; especially since you had just crushed his heart, considering you didn't stay that long to realize what you did," Dante taunted as he moved over to Peter's chair and sat down.

Peter looked at the liaison agent sitting at his desk "I tried to let him down as best I could; it just didn't do go as well as I had hoped," Peter said as he walked around the desk and grabbed Dante by the back of his shirt and pulled him to his feet.

Dante smirked "Neal told me you only see him as another Satchmo, just another pet in your eyes… I told him that in your eyes he is only a stray, you show him some affection but never enough to let him feel he's loved and you always keep him at arm's length. You know only what you learned from watching him from afar," Dante said as he pulled away from Peter.

"You're right I keep him at arm's length and I don't show him a lot of affection, but I'm trying to help him shape up he's not a little kid anymore and I won't play his games," Peter said as his annoyance level was starting to go up.

Dropping his smirk Dante made a quick glance behind Peter before speaking "It's just as I thought if it weren't for this work release program you wouldn't give two shits about Neal," Dante said taking a step back so he was leaning against the wall.

Peter had reached the end of his rope at that point "You want to know the truth fine, I can't stand Neal for very long when he does the opposite of what I say even when I put my job on the line to protect him; if he keeps going against the rules he's either going to jail or get himself or someone else killed," Peter said as he turned away from Dante and came face to face with Neal.

"It's nice to finally know the truth…about where we stand… " Neal forced out as he tried to keep his composure despite the fact he felt like the floor was falling out from under him.

Dante stepped away from the wall. "Come on Neal, I'm taking you home," Dante said as he put his arm around Neal and led him out of the office before Peter could stop them. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that," he apologized as he rubbed Neal's shoulder comfortingly; he glanced over his shoulder and smirked at Peter as he stepped into the elevator with Neal.

Dante poured Neal a sixth drink, "I told you he was a jerk, and he admitted how he really feels about you," Dante said as he reclined back in the char.

Neal opened his mouth to speak just as the words reached his lips his cell phone rang for the tenth time. Neal ignored the phone and downed the glass.

"You're right he's….a real big… jerk," Neal remarked as he tried to make a grab for the bottle only to end up falling off the chair and hitting the floor. Just as he started to get up there came a knock on the door. After two failed attempts of getting to his feet Neal looked at the door. "Come on in the door is open," he called as he lay back down on the floor.

Mozzie stormed into the apartment and looked at his friend lying on the floor. "Why the heck is the Suit calling me asking me to talk to you?"

**Author's Note**

**I want to thank everyone for reading this story and keep a look out for the next story in the Worth the Risk series, Peppe has talked me into keeping Dante and have him in the next story I hope you all enjoy the holidays and the new year ~ Loves & Hugs BBB**


	7. Author's Note

Author's Note

The newest sequel to this story has now been posted it is called the Dragon's Den I hope you all enjoy. For all of those fans waiting for the slash between Peter and Neal it finally happens and for those who want to know more about Neal's family you get to meet them and find out just how Neal became Neal. This newest instalment takes the characters to to some dark places I hope you enjoy it.

I would like to thank all my returning fans who have followed the story through the series and I hope you enjoy the latest installment and I hope to hear your feedback on the story.

Loves and Hugs BBB


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